An army of ants in your kitchen or house can be a nuisance, especially when they're running across your kitchen counter. You can use all kinds of crawling insect killers, but to really get rid of them you have to take it to the source.

Locate where the ants are coming from, and how they are getting in from the outside. To do this you have to have an ant trail. If they're not forming one of their own you have to create one. Put some syrup or high protein food on some small pieces of cardboard and put them out at night. When you go to check the bait the next day, you should have a fairly good size trail to follow. This is to show you where they're getting into your house. You can then use duct tape, petroleum jelly, or silicone caulk to seal the entryway shut.

Remove the the cardboard and ants and take them outside. Look for inside sources of food and dispose of it. Be sure to keep stove tops, floors , and countertops clean.

Supposedly strips of cucumber peel put along with the baseboards is supposed to discourage ants from entering that area.

Store your dry foods in tightly closed screw top jars with rubber seals.

Be sure to empty trash containers daily and rinse out any recycled containers.

To keep control of ants if you should see some running around on the counter, spritz them with a solution of soapy water. You can also use this outside on their nests.

Other methods of getting rid of ants outside are sticky traps and flooding of them out of their nests with hot water. You can also lure them away from their location with food and then pour boiling water on them, I would suggest other methods first.

Other effective but cruel ways to get rid of ants include the use of desiccating dusts. These can be sprinkled around on floors, her bits carpets and sidewalks, and cracks in foundations. always use gloves and protective face gear when using these dusts, as they are harmful to breathe in and irritating to the skin. As long as these dusts are kept dry, they can be effective for many years.

If you wanna be really mean to them you can sprinkle cornmeal outside after applying the dusts. They'll eat the cornmeal, then search for water to drink. the moisture mixed with the powder in their stomachs causes them to pop.

Sprinkling boric acid in cracks and crevices is an effective way to get rid of the entire colony. Since ants have a habit of taking food back to the nest, they'll be covered with boric acid and when they share this powdered food it can wipe out all the ants including the queen.

Take care when using boric acid as it can be poisonous to pets and small children.

This is a simple recipe to make your own ant traps.

ant traps